An umpire broke Angel Hernandez’s record for the worst called strikeout ever
Umpire Ángel Hernández retired early in the 2024 Major League Baseball season but for many fans he remains an unfortunate benchmark for bad calls.
Hernández, however, no longer has to hear negative comments from players, managers or fans.
But his name came up this week following the Rays’ 5-1 win over the Rangers on Tuesday in Tampa, Florida.
Rangers pitcher Tyler Mahle struck out Jake Magnum on a pitch that was so far outside that even Texas’ announcers were joking about it.
Umpire Auditor said the pitch was more than a half-foot outside the zone. And that was a new record, breaking a mark that Hernández had held.
The X site Umpire Auditor shared video of the strikeout and wrote: “Umpire Laz Diaz rang up Jake Magnum on a pitch that missed outside by 6.83 inches. With that call, Laz Diaz has taken the crown from Angel Hernandez for the worst called strikeout in Umpire Auditor history.”
That post also included a look at Hernández’s missed call that had been the record. Umpire Auditor said it joined X in 2014, so this may not have been the worst strikeout ever but it’s bad.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 8:39 AM.
